Research on the Structural System of Seal Script in the Eastern Han Dynasty Inscriptions

Author: Chen Shumei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Based on the theory of Chinese character formation, this book conducts a comprehensive investigation and study of the formation system of clerical script inscriptions from the Eastern Han Dynasty. By comparing it with other historical levels of Chinese character formation systems, it determines the position of Eastern Han inscriptions in the history of Chinese character formation and provides accurate evidence for establishing a scientific history of Chinese characters. Eastern Han inscriptions are representative works of clerical script, and there are a considerable number of clear printed copies of their rubbings, which offer abundant contextual information and sufficient material for the analysis and study of clerical script. Therefore, we have chosen the characters from Eastern Han inscriptions as the subject of analysis, applying the theory of Chinese character formation to conduct a comprehensive investigation, organization, and systematic analysis and description of the texts of the commonly used characters during this synchronic period. This preliminarily demonstrates the formation characteristics of Eastern Han clerical script and its position in the history of Chinese character development, exploring the process and patterns of Chinese character evolution and providing reliable evidence for establishing a scientific history of Chinese character formation. Specifically, this book aims to achieve the following three objectives: First, to organize the examples of clerical script inscriptions and describe the formation system of Eastern Han clerical script, in order to outline the overall and systematic appearance of Chinese characters at that time, obtain relevant data on formation elements, formation patterns, and relationships between characters, and provide multidimensional information for their positioning and characterization. Second, to discover and observe various phenomena in the formation system of Eastern Han clerical script, and through vertical historical comparison, examine the formation characteristics of these characters, thereby revealing the patterns of evolution from ancient to modern characters. On this basis, establish the position of clerical script in the history of Chinese character development. Third, after clerical script, the style of calligraphy has become an important aspect in examining the attributes of Chinese characters. While investigating the formation issues of Eastern Han clerical script, this paper will also explore the reasons and characteristics of the formation of clerical script style, and examine the influence of calligraphic style and the writing elements of Chinese characters—strokes and combinations of strokes—on the evolution of formation.